Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

A new gift edition of a modern classic, with supplemental photographs, speeches, letters, and essaysPsychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir of life in Nazi death camps has riveted generations of readers. Based on Frankl’s own experience and the stories of his patients, the book argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward. Man’s Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential books of our times, selling over twelve million copies worldwide. With a foreword by Harold S. Kushner, Frankl’s classic is presented here in an elegant new edition with endpapers, supplementary photographs, and several of Frankl’s previously unpublished letters, speeches, and essays.

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of the ten most influential books in America. —Library of Congress/Book-of-the-Month Club "Survey of Lifetime Readers"

"Viktor Frankl's timeless formula for survival. One of the classic psychiatric texts of our time, Man's Search for Meaning is a meditation on the irreducible gift of one's own counsel in the face of great suffering, as well as a reminder of the responsibility each of us owes in valuing the community of our humanity. There are few wiser, kinder, or more comforting challenges than Frankl's." —Patricia J. Williams, author of Seeing a Color-Blind Future: The Paradox of Race

"Dr. Frankl's words have a profoundly honest ring, for they rest on experiences too deep for deception… A gem of a dramatic narrative, focused upon the deepest of human problems." —Gordon W. Allport, from the Preface

"An enduring work of survival literature." —The New York Times

"[Man's Search for Meaning] might well be prescribed for everyone who would understand our time." —Journal of Individual Psychology

"An inspiring document of an amazing man who was able to garner some good from an experience so abysmally bad… Highly recommended." —Library Journal

"One of the great books of our time." —Harold S. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

"One of the outstanding contributions to psychological thought in the last fifty years." —Carl R. Rogers (1959)

About the Author

Born in Vienna in 1905, Viktor E. Frankl earned an MD and a PhD from the University of Vienna. He published more than thirty books on theoretical and clinical psychology and served as a visiting professor and lecturer at Harvard, Stanford, and elsewhere. Frankl died in 1997.

Top customer reviews

If you're in pain, read this book. If you're scared, read this book. If you are lost, read this book. If you are happy, read this book. If you have time, read this book. If you don't have time, read this book. Read this book, read this book.

"We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

I read this in college and ordered again to read some 40 years later. Frankl relates the severe conditions in the concentration camp. Those without any purpose seemed to perish. Those that had developed purpose and meaning to the harsh conditions got out of bed every morning to face another unbearable day. this book is a classic. anything less than 5 stars would be a reflection on me.

This is a beautiful book. Years back, when I was going through some difficult times in Beijing, I would switch off the lights in my service apartment, and listen to the audio book. It gave me strength then, although I did not fully understand the section on logo therapy at that time

I read it again, and once again it struck me as a book of strength and beauty. That he could come out of this in one piece is itself a marvel. That he could distil such timeless lessons from the concentration camp and gift them to us is another thing of beauty.

Read the book in good times, in bad. In happiness, and sadness. It will lift you, and make you see the world through different eyes.

The book came in new Condition and in the time stated. I've already finished the book and WOW so powerful! The Author Viktor Frankl is absolutely amazing as he describes in graphic details his horrific experiences, making you feel like you were right there with him... Suffering and fighting through the physical and worse psychological pain with one goal... Getting out of the "camp" and hopefully reuniting with his wife with his mind in tact. A must read!!

The experiences in concentration camps in WWII are both interesting and educational. The further writings on logotherapy are insightful and useful in looking at life situations. A recommended read for anyone.

Powerful behind the scenes coverage of WW2 POWs, and thoroughly interesting from a psychology perspective. I lost interest a little bit when he transitioned into explaining logotherapy at the end, but that's only because I was solely interested in the real-life story

This story was so good. I liked the fact that the story was well written, it had deeper meaning to all of the facts brought out by World War Ii. One thing that I did not like about this book was the fact that the information provided at the end of the story was so packed in to the last several pages of this book. I suppose that the reason for this was so that that short, to the point, and ready to read at any given time. I do recommend this book to any person who really enjoys reading and finding out more about what happends during the second World War. The back story of this great Psychology character. I gave this book this rating, because of the way in which it was written and the thoughts used throughout this story.